Two years before they kick off, the newly minted franchises in Vancouver and Portland are already competing off the field. As we reported earlier this week, Vancouver had already sold 5,000 season ticket deposits less than one week after the franchise announcement. Now, word comes out of Portland that within the first 48 hours of opening up sales, more than 1,000 season ticket deposits have been sold. For both teams, present USL season ticket holders will have priority ahead of deposit holders, likely adding a couple thousand more to the season ticket rolls.

Fans of both teams already anticipate a heated rivalry on the field. Off the field, the franchises will forever be compared because of their start dates and geographic proximity. It will be fascinating to monitor these franchises as they prepare for 2011. Advertising dollars, ticket sales, broadcast deals and sponsorships will all provide means to compare the franchises for the next two years.

Colombian Fredy Montero made a big splash on the field in his debut last week. The performance was so impressive that Seattle fans were already dreaming of multiple MVP awards, or the possibility of a large transfer fee. An article in the Seattle Times suggests that neither may come to pass.

According to the article, Montero is on a one year contract stemming from a loan agreement. Seattle GM Adrian Hanauer acknowledged to the paper that Seattle only controls Montero for one season (despite Montero leaving the door open to a second year). MLS typically orchastrates its loan agreements with an option to buy, so a one year loan without such an option would be rare. Nevertheless, a young player with such promise will be a hot commodity on the transfer market, and there are reports that MLS owns some percentage of Montero’s sale rights, thereby affording the League a chance to recoup some money on a Montero transfer.